Blog Bioethics.net opens to a plain white page with simple header and minimal sidebar distractions, as you would expect in a blog of this type. No nonsense here.
This blog is written by the editors of The American Journal of Bioethics. Why? ” . . .bioethics clearly needs a good blog and we are trying to create it. ” Simple enough reason I expect. However, when I visited their online Journal, it seems that much of the same material is covered there.
The entries begin in September of 2004, so this is a fairly new place, and the comments are still thin. Though the authors clearly welcome them, and perhaps over time, some give and take will develop.
The content consists of short introductions that link to articles of interest in the bioethics field. They are concise and to the point. The liberal use of acronyms makes many of the entries practically incomprehensible to this reader, but since the target audience would most likely be familiar with the institutions and concepts referred to, I suppose it is of little consequence. But if the authors want to capture interest a casual reader who may stumble onto their site, a little more clarity would be a good thing.
This is a specialized blog, and would appeal to the obvious audience. I found it a bit dry due to the fact that they mainly stick to “the facts” and do not actually put out a clear opinion about the articles cited. If this is their goal, they are succeeding. However, if they want to start a conversation, perhaps a bit more openness would spark some debate.
Time will tell which direction this blog takes.